A strange little side quest
The rules may be simple on screen, but the backstory around Super Ordinary Joe is anything but tiny. Nancy Johnson patented a hand-cranked ice-cream freezer in 1843 that used an inner churning chamber surrounded by ice. The timeline takes another interesting turn: Early computer role-playing games helped turn rules, inventories, exploration and character progression into systems that could support long-form digital adventures. It is a good reminder that simple game mechanics can carry a surprising amount of history.
